Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Jesus and the Devil
(Matthew 4.1-11; Mark 1.12,13)
4 When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. 2 For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating.[a] When it was all over, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God's Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.”
4 (A) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘No one can live only on food.’ ”
5 Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. 6 The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 Just worship me, and you can have it all.”
8 (B) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:
‘Worship the Lord your God
and serve only him!’ ”
9 Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off. 10-11 (C) The Scriptures say:
‘God will tell his angels
to take care of you.
They will catch you
in their arms,
and you will not even hurt
your feet on the stones.’ ”
12 (D) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”
13 After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.
Jesus Begins His Work
(Matthew 4.12-17; Mark 1.14,15)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. 15 He taught in the Jewish synagogues, and everyone praised him.
The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus
(Matthew 13.53-58; Mark 6.1-6)
16 Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, 17 he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,
18 (E) “The Lord's Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,
19 and to say, ‘This is the year
the Lord has chosen.’ ”
20 Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue looked straight at Jesus.
21 Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”
22 All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, “Isn't he Joseph's son?”
23 Jesus answered:
You will certainly want to tell me this saying, “Doctor, first make yourself well.” You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum. 24 (F) But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.
25 (G) Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel, 26 (H) but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon. 27 (I) During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy.[b] But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.
28 When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus say this, they became so angry 29 that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there. 30 But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.
A Man with an Evil Spirit
(Mark 1.21-28)
31 Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 (J) His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33 There in the synagogue was a man with an evil spirit. He yelled out, 34 “Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”
35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.
36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!” 37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.
Jesus Heals Many People
(Matthew 8.14-17; Mark 1.29-34)
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's home. When Jesus got there, he was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. 39 So Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away. Right then she was able to get up and serve them a meal.
40 After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them. 41 Demons went out of many people and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him. When they found him, they tried to stop him from leaving. 43 But Jesus said, “People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. This is why I was sent.” 44 So he kept on preaching in the synagogues in Judea.[c]
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
(Matthew 4.18-22; Mark 1.16-20)
5 (K) Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,[d] teaching the people as they crowded around him to hear God's message. 2 Near the shore he saw two boats left there by some fishermen who had gone to wash their nets. 3 Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to row it out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down[e] in the boat to teach the crowd.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he told Simon, “Row the boat out into the deep water and let your nets down to catch some fish.”
5 (L) “Master,” Simon answered, “we have worked hard all night long and have not caught a thing. But if you tell me to, I will let the nets down.” 6 (M) They did this and caught so many fish that their nets began ripping apart. 7 Then they signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. The men came, and together they filled the two boats so full that they both began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this happen, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, don't come near me! I am a sinner.” 9 Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised at all the fish they had caught. 10 His partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised too.
Jesus told Simon, “Don't be afraid! From now on you will bring in people instead of fish.” 11 The men pulled their boats up on the shore. Then they left everything and went with Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Man
(Matthew 8.1-4; Mark 1.40-45)
12 Jesus came to a town where there was a man who had leprosy.[f] When the man saw Jesus, he knelt down to the ground in front of Jesus and begged, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.”
13 Jesus put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man's leprosy disappeared. 14 (N) Jesus told him, “Don't tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest. Offer a gift to the priest, just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”[g]
15 News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk
(Matthew 9.1-8; Mark 2.1-12)
17 One day some Pharisees and experts in the Law of Moses sat listening to Jesus teach. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem.
God had given Jesus the power to heal the sick, 18 and some people came carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. They tried to take him inside the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they went up on the roof,[h] where they removed some tiles and let the mat down in the middle of the room.
20 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the experts began arguing, “Jesus must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking this? 23 Is it easier for me to tell this man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? 24 But now you will see that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” Jesus then said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk home.”
25 At once the man stood up in front of everyone. He picked up his mat and went home, giving thanks to God. 26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. What they saw surprised them, and they said, “We have seen a great miracle today!”
Jesus Chooses Levi
(Matthew 9.9-13; Mark 2.13-17)
27 Later, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector[i] named Levi sitting at the place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 28 Levi left everything and went with Jesus.
29 In his home Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus. Many tax collectors and other guests were also there.
30 (O) The Pharisees and some of their teachers of the Law of Moses grumbled to Jesus' disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with these tax collectors and other sinners?”
31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn't come to invite good people to turn to God. I came to invite sinners.”
People Ask about Going without Eating
(Matthew 9.14-17; Mark 2.18-22)
33 Some people said to Jesus, “John's followers often pray and go without eating,[j] and so do the followers of the Pharisees. But your disciples never go without eating or drinking.”
34 Jesus told them, “The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.”
36 Jesus then told them these sayings:
No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. The patch would shrink and make the hole even bigger.
37 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would swell and burst the old skins.[k] Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. 38 New wine must be put only into new wineskins.
39 No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. They say, “The old wine is better.”
A Question about the Sabbath
(Matthew 12.1-8; Mark 2.23-28)
6 (P) One Sabbath when Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields,[l] the disciples picked some wheat. They rubbed the husks off with their hands and started eating the grain.
2 Some Pharisees said, “Why are you picking grain on the Sabbath? You're not supposed to do that!”
3 (Q) Jesus answered, “You surely have read what David did when he and his followers were hungry. 4 (R) He went into the house of God and took the sacred loaves of bread that only priests were supposed to eat. He not only ate some himself, but even gave some to his followers.”
5 Jesus finished by saying, “The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Paralyzed Hand
(Matthew 12.9-14; Mark 3.1-6)
6 On another Sabbath[m] Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, and a man with a paralyzed right hand was there. 7 Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses kept watching Jesus to see if he would heal the man. They did this because they wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong.
8 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he told the man to stand up where everyone could see him. And the man stood up. 9 Then Jesus asked, “On the Sabbath should we do good deeds or evil deeds? Should we save someone's life or destroy it?”
10 After he had looked around at everyone, he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his bad hand became completely well.
11 The teachers and the Pharisees were furious and started saying to one another, “What can we do about Jesus?”
Jesus Chooses His Twelve Apostles
(Matthew 10.1-4; Mark 3.13-19)
12 About that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night there. 13 The next morning he called his disciples together and chose twelve of them to be his apostles. 14 One was Simon, and Jesus named him Peter. Another was Andrew, Peter's brother. There were also James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus. The rest of the apostles were Simon, known as the Eager One,[n] 16 Jude, who was the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,[o] who later betrayed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals
(Matthew 4.23-25)
17 Jesus and his apostles went down from the mountain and came to some flat, level ground. Many other disciples were there to meet him. Large crowds of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon were there too. 18 These people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. All who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed. 19 Everyone was trying to touch Jesus, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Blessings and Troubles
(Matthew 5.1-12)
20 Jesus looked at his disciples and said:
God will bless you people
who are poor.
His kingdom belongs to you!
21 God will bless
you hungry people.
You will have plenty
to eat!
God will bless you people
who are now crying.
You will laugh!
22 (S) God will bless you when others hate you and won't have anything to do with you. God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man. 23 (T) Long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets. So when this happens to you, be happy and jump for joy! You will have a great reward in heaven.
24 But you rich people
are in for trouble.
You have already had
an easy life!
25 You well-fed people
are in for trouble.
You will go hungry!
You people
who are laughing now
are in for trouble.
You are going to cry
and weep!
26 You are in for trouble when everyone says good things about you. That is what your own people said about those prophets who told lies.
Love for Enemies
(Matthew 5.38-48; 7.12a)
27 This is what I say to all who will listen to me:
Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you. 28 Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, don't stop that person from slapping you on the other cheek. If someone wants to take your coat, don't try to keep back your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks and don't ask people to return what they have taken from you. 31 (U) Treat others just as you want to be treated.
32 If you love only someone who loves you, will God praise you for that? Even sinners love people who love them. 33 If you are kind only to someone who is kind to you, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners are kind to people who are kind to them. 34 If you lend money only to someone you think will pay you back, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners lend to sinners because they think they will get it all back.
35 (V) But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back.[p] Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven. He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel. 36 Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you.
Judging Others
(Matthew 7.1-5)
37 Jesus said:
Don't judge others, and God won't judge you. Don't be hard on others, and God won't be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you. 38 If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.
39 (W) Jesus also used some sayings as he spoke to the people. He said:
Can one blind person lead another blind person? Won't they both fall into a ditch? 40 (X) Are students better than their teacher? But when they are fully trained, they will be like their teacher.
41 You can see the speck in your friend's eye, but you don't notice the log in your own eye. 42 How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don't see the log in your own eye? You show-offs! First, get the log out of your own eye; then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend's eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
(Matthew 7.17-20; 12.34b,35)
43 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 44 (Y) You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. You cannot pick figs or grapes from thornbushes. 45 (Z) Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts, but bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart.
Two Builders
(Matthew 7.24-27)
46 Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say? 47 Anyone who comes and listens to me and obeys me 48 is like someone who dug down deep and built a house on solid rock. When a flood came and the river rushed against the house, it was built so well that it didn't even shake. 49 But anyone who hears what I say and doesn't obey me is like someone whose house wasn't built on solid rock. As soon as the river rushed against that house, it was smashed to pieces!
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